As Californians continue to flee the state, with many heading for Texas, a recent University of California Berkeley poll finds conservative voters in California are three times more likely than their liberal counterparts to seriously consider abandoning the state. 

The poll found both conservative and liberal voters cited California’s high costs of housing as a common reason for wanting to leave. 

Conservative Californians are far less likely than liberals to have a positive assessment of the state. The poll found 23% of Republicans and 67% of Democrats believe California is the best place to live.

The partisan gap found in state assessments is likely explained by the poll finding that California conservatives cite the high taxes and the left-leaning political culture as the top two reasons for leaving.  

While high taxes are pushing conservative Californians away, states like Texas that have no income taxes are pulling them in. Texas also attracts the most California companies because it has no corporate income tax, giving businesses more economic freedom, the Hayride cites.

The push and pull factors described above may explain why 700,00 Californians packed their bags and left in 2018, and why 86,000 of those Californians headed to Texas, according to 2018 U.S. Census data.